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Published on: December 14, 2017
Calorimetric measurement of the carbon kerma factor for 14.6-MeV neutrons
Abstract:
A spherical graphite calorimeter was used to determine the ratio of kerma to influence (kerma factor) for neutrons whose mean energy was approximately 14.6 MeV. The calorimeter was used to measure carbon kerma, while activation foils of Al and Au were used to determine the neutron fluence. The calorimeter was constructed specifically to measure kerma in neutron fields. The amount of graphite and other materials was kept to a minimum to reduce absorption and scattering of the neutrons. Ionization chambers were used to measure A-150 plastic kerma and to monitor the intensity of the exposures. The value for the carbon kerma factor was determined to be 1.80 +/- 0.16 X 10(-11) Gy X cm2. The relationship of this value to other recent measurements and calculations at similar neutron energies is discussed.
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